DC Rallies for Thrilling Win at Bluffton

BLUFFTON, Ohio – Mike Floyd sank two of his game-high 24 points from the charity stripe to lift DC to its first lead of the second half with just 15 seconds remaining, before a steal and score from Nick Sales at the horn sealed the stirring comeback and gave the Jackets a 71-68 win at Bluffton.

Defiance faced a 64-54 deficit with 7:12 remaining in the game, before a trey from Heath Armstrong and five-straight points from Floyd brought the Jackets within two points with 4:50 to play.

The 8-0 spurt cut the Bluffton advantage to just two points for the fifth time in the second stanza but the Beavers answered each and every time with a quick score to boost the spread and countered once again with a pair of free throws from Nick Lee to take the 66-62 lead.

DC then used a pair of free throws from Sales to cut the gap to 66-64, only to see Colt Cunningham's free throws reclaim a four-point advantage for Bluffton with 1:57 to go in the game.

Defiance finally managed to get closer than two points, when a Floyd jumper followed an Anthony Pettaway free throw to close to within a single point at 68-67 with 45 ticks left on the clock.

That set the stage for Floyd's heroics and the junior point guard responded by picking up a steal with 18 seconds to play and sinking two shots from the line to give DC its first lead of the second half at 69-68 with 00:15 left.

Bluffton also had its final chance stripped away, as Sales got a steal and laid it in on the other end as the horn sounded to ice the 71-68 victory for Defiance.

The Jackets closed the game on a 7-0 run over the game's final two minutes and held Bluffton without a field goal over the final 7:12 of action. DC fed off of the defensive stops and charged back to complete the come-from-behind win by closing the game on a 17-4 spurt.

Floyd played all but two minutes and added two steals to his 24 points, while Nick Sales was a perfect six-for-six from the floor en route to ending with 17 points, nine rebounds, four steals, three assists and one block.

Pettaway, Eric Stolly and Armstrong rounded out a strong effort from the starting unit. DC's starters each logged at least 29 minutes and combined to register 65-of-71 points for the Jackets, while also hauling in 24-of-30 rebounds for Defiance.

The Jackets have now won three-straight games against Bluffton (10-7, 4-4 HCAC) and are riding a three-game win streak, which has raised their record to 11-6 overall and 6-2 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Defiance will look to make it four-straight wins on Saturday when it hosts Hanover (4-12, 1-7 HCAC) at 3:00 pm in former mentor Jon Miller's first game back at the Karl H. Weaner Community Center.